Little Pink Starfish

Even the scholar had never seen a newly born goblin before.
The goblin was just a blue flame the size of a chestnut.
It could do nothing but flutter gently with the breeze.
It only woke at night, and returned to the form of a glass jar before the morning sun.
Even in such a tiny flame-like form, its fondness for people was visible—it was curious and strange.

The little goblin was so small and fragile that it seemed like it might disappear, floating away like a flower seed with just a gust of wind.
After some thought, the scholar cut his pinky nail and gave it to the goblin.
Then the goblin was able to transform into a small field mouse.

🍬

Ibi suddenly sat up, drenched in cold sweat.
He felt around just below his solar plexus, where the dagger had pierced him, then looked up—
Igok was silently gazing down at him.

Feeling reassured at the sight of the king’s face, Ibi relaxed and collapsed back down.

Igok, like calming a child, pulled Ibi onto his lap, held him in one arm, and silently smoked his long pipe.
His gaze, staring out the window at the human city’s night view, was somber.
As Ibi shifted within the familiar, steady embrace, Igok asked:

“…Who was it?”

With his head leaning against Igok’s shoulder, Ibi rolled his eyes in thought.

Usually, when goblins suffer a major blow or shock, they return to their true form.
Ibi was no different in that—except he could roam far from his true form, the glass jar.
Whenever he got hurt while away, he always woke up in Igok’s arms.
Because Igok was protecting Ibi’s glass jar.

“Obviously a human, right?”

Before Ibi could even answer, Igok angrily smacked the floor with his smoking pipe.
The old items scattered around the room clattered all at once, like a sudden downpour.
The noise jolted Ibi’s still-drowsy mind awake.

“Thank you……”

Ibi smiled sheepishly and slowly got up from Igok’s lap.
Igok, looking irritated and displeased, glared at a teacup that was still rattling alone even though everything else had quieted down, and lightly smacked it with his pipe.

Brushing away the smoke that had settled like a chair, Igok opened the door, a flickering blue flame surrounding him, and walked out.
Ibi scratched his head awkwardly and looked around.

‘It really was just a little sting.’

Just like Saeon said, it hardly hurt for a dagger wound.
He didn’t seem to have slept for that long either.
If Saeon had gone to such lengths to sharpen the blade so it wouldn’t hurt, that just made things more complicated.
What a strange hunter.

Ibi glanced around and sneakily sucked on his finger.
No sweetness.
But since it was his own body, who knows?
No one had ever licked or sucked Ibi’s body before.

Except for that cold, cruel, and weird hunter…

Looking down at his finger, Ibi blushed with an emotion he couldn’t quite name—anger? Embarrassment?

“…Already this much is gone.”

Trying to erase his scattered thoughts, Ibi peeked into his glass jar and let out a soft sigh.
Half the candies that once filled the jar were already gone.

He quickly went downstairs and came back with a bag of candy from the break room.
He sat neatly on the floor and began peeling the candies one by one, placing them into the jar.

Ibi could transform into more forms than most goblins—but there was a catch.

The more and longer he transformed, the more the candy in his glass jar would decrease.
Once it was empty, he couldn’t transform anymore.
And refilling it didn’t immediately restore his power—candy was just a medium.
It had to absorb enough yin energy and become translucent before it could be used.

These days, candy was easy to get, but in the past, he had to use taffy sticks, which would melt and become annoyingly sticky.
When he tried using fruit, half of it would rot or ferment into alcohol.
Candy was perfect. Hooray for modern civilization.

He popped one of the candies into his mouth and headed downstairs.
Stepping lightly out of the elevator, Ibi stopped.

So-wol and Dongjitdal were standing right in front of the elevator, waiting like good children…

So-wol, beaming brightly and saying how long she’d waited, was terrifying.
Dongjitdal, teary-eyed and saying he thought something had happened, was even more terrifying.

Ibi had to offer a gold nugget to So-wol and swear to Dongjitdal that he’d never disappear again without a word, not even leaving a trace—
Only then was he allowed out of the elevator.

Whether two goblins had vanished or not, the other yokai were playing around as always.
A couple other monsters were worried that two goblins hadn’t been seen lately,
but the rest of the goblins didn’t even seem to notice their comrades were missing.

Igok was slouched by the window, resting his chin in one hand, glaring at a stack of documents probably forced on him by a pleading human employee.
Ibi quietly walked over and started stamping them in his place.

“Did you find the kids?”

“No.”

Just as he expected.
No wonder Igok looked more sour than usual.
After finishing the stamping, Ibi nudged Igok’s robe and cautiously asked:

“Would it be okay… if I went abroad for a bit…?”

“Do as you please.”

“I mean… for like, a few years?”

Igok gave him a look that asked, “Why?”

Well, uh, it’s just… a certain hunter saw my face, and I think he’s onto me…
Ibi realized even as he thought it, that it was a bad excuse.
If he wanted to go abroad for years, he’d have to take the glass jar with him.
And Igok would never let him take it overseas alone.
It wasn’t like they could move the whole goblin clan abroad.
Their home was here, on this peninsula.

“Uh, never mind… just saying.”

Even if not for that reason, he couldn’t leave.
After waiting so long, he was finally about to meet the Scholar again—
he couldn’t run away now.

Squatting by Igok’s feet, fiddling with his phone, Ibi silently worried.
What if that strange hunter comes after me again?
He did come all the way to the fan meeting to get my autograph—
a true core fan.

Ibi recalled the stalkers who had threatened to kill him if he didn’t date them.
Maybe Saeon was that type too.
Otherwise, why stab someone with a creepy dagger while saying he was a fan?

And why… touch his lips like that?

‘He didn’t say he wanted to kiss me, but that he wanted to suck my lips. What’s that even mean?’

Ibi absentmindedly touched his own lips.
There was a high chance Saeon would show up again.
Maybe bringing gifts, confessing how pretty and cool he was,
or following him around everywhere.

Hmm, that would be a problem…
Well, receiving gifts might be okay.
But if he tries to suck on my fingers or lips again, that would really be…

Troublesome.
Kids these days were too forward.

While thinking that, Ibi noticed Dongjitdal looking at him weirdly.

“Ibi, why are you smiling so creepily?”

“Me? When did I…?”

Ibi was caught off guard mid-fantasy, coughed awkwardly, and stood up.
He had just woken up recently, but it was already late—
time for a rare-type goblin to sleep.

🍬

“Ibi, why do you look so grumpy?”

So-wol poked Ibi’s cheek and asked curiously.
Ibi snapped out of his daze, still staring at his phone.

“No, just…”

“No? But your cheeks are all puffed.”

Maybe it was just an excuse to touch his face—So-wol poked and pinched his cheeks until satisfied, then lost interest.

Ibi sighed and leaned his head on Dongjitdal’s shoulder, who was sitting next to him, immersed in a phone game.

Despite all his worrying, Saeon hadn’t shown up again after several days.
Did he… fall out of fandom?
Or maybe he thought Ibi was dead?

No, it must be that he fell out of fandom.
He was still following fan stuff—there’s no way he didn’t know Ibi was alive!

“Why do I keep thinking like this…”

Ibi muttered and shook his head.
Dongjitdal glanced over, only to be killed by a game boss and slump in defeat.

Thinking about it again, it made sense.
Saeon probably only tried to hurt Ibi because he broke into his house.
While relieved, Ibi also felt a strange disappointment—and that confused him.
It was truly weird.

A hunter who tied him up, toyed with him, and tried to kill him…
What was there to be disappointed about?

‘Unless I’m some kind of pervert—who longs for someone who tried to hurt me…’

Even so, he kept waiting for that person.

After thinking deeply, Ibi decided it was because Saeon’s actions had never truly threatened him.
No matter what Saeon did, Ibi always woke back up in his glass jar at Dobi Entertainment.

So, aside from the actual threat part, Saeon was strangely interesting.
Like how So-wol likes rare types, or Dongjitdal loves plants—
goblins are naturally drawn to certain humans.
Sometimes, it’s just pure instinct.

Though human, Saeon was one of the rare ones who made Ibi’s heart beat—with fear and excitement.

‘But… that’s all it is.’

Ibi let his thoughts of Saeon fade.
Fantasizing about Saeon coming back had been fun,
but since nothing happened in days, that dream had expired.

He had too many other humans to love besides that scary hunter.